Heat Extractor to Capture and Recycle Heat Energy within a Furnace

ABSTRACT

A heat extractor captures and separates the heat and the carbon monoxide from waste energy that is expelled from the furnace as an unusable bi-product. The heat extractor includes a core assembly, a furnace flue pipe inlet, and a furnace flue pipe outlet. The heat extractor is secured within a return air duct of the furnace, while a furnace outlet is connected to the furnace flue pipe inlet and the furnace flue pipe outlet is connected to a chimney outlet. When the furnace is operating, the hot exhaust passes through the heat extractor on its way to the chimney outlet. Within the return air duct there is a heat exchange from the heat extractor to the return cool air, thereby preheating the cool air just before it enters the furnace causing less consumption of energy to heat that air while the carbon monoxide harmlessly passes through the chimney outlet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to an apparatus that improves theoverall efficiency of a furnace. More specifically, the presentinvention captures and separates heat energy from the carbon monoxidebi-product of the furnaces to preheat the return air, and then thepreheated return air can be recycled back into the furnace to improvethe efficiency of the furnace.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern high-efficiency furnaces can be 98% efficient and operate with orwithout a chimney. However, small amount of waste gas and heat energyare ventilated through a flue piping system of the furnace. The fluepipe system normally vents through the side or roof of the house so thatthe waste gas and the heat energy can be effective discharged from thestructure. In other words, the furnace is not able to improve upon thestandard 98% efficiency due to the heat energy that is lost as a wastedbi-product from the furnace. Due to the rising electricity cost andnatural gas cost, the operating cost of a furnace also tends to increaseevery year. As a result, consumers often have to spend extra money tooperate the furnace.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat extractorthat can capture and recycle heat energy that is discharged as wastefrom a furnace in order to improve the efficiency of the furnace. Morespecifically, wasted heat energy that discharges though the flue pipesystem is extracted through the present invention and recycled back intothe furnace to preheat the return air. By doing so, the furnace requiresless energy to heat up the air that has been preheated through thepresent invention. As a result, the efficiency of the furnace can beeasily improved through the present invention as the consumption of lessenergy results into lower energy cost for the consumers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the present invention that illustrates thecooling fins, the first set of circulating tubes, and the second set ofcirculating tubes, wherein the plane upon which a cross sectional viewis taken shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the present invention taken along lineA-A of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a detail section view of the present invention showing theinlet openings of the series of circulating tube assemblies, wherein thedetail view is taken shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a detail section view of the present invention showing theoutlet openings of the series of circulating tube assemblies, whereinthe detail view is taken shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the series of circulating tubeassemblies showing the first set of circulating tubes and the second setof circulating tubes.

FIG. 9 is a basic schematic diagram showing the connection between thepresent invention and the flue pipe system.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a heat extractor which captures heat energyfrom a discharged flue gas of a furnace as the discharged flue gasreleases thought a flue pipe system of the furnace. More specifically,the present invention captures the heat energy of the discharged fluegas and recycles the heat energy back into the furnace though a returnair duct of the furnace thereby pre-heating the cool air before itreaches the furnace. Since only the heat energy is isolated away fromthe discharged flue gas, the present invention still allows the carbonmonoxide bi-product of the discharged flue gas to release into theatmosphere through the flue pipe system. As a result, the presentinvention is able to improve the efficiency of the furnace withoutrequiring an outside energy source while maintaining the safetystandards of the furnace.

In reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a portable andstandalone apparatus that comprises a core assembly 1, a furnace fluepipe inlet 2, and a furnace flue pipe outlet 3. The core assembly 1 isin fluid communication with the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and thefurnace flue pipe outlet 3 so that the present invention can beintegrated onto the furnace. In order to utilize the present inventionwith the furnace, the present invention is first secured within thereturned air duct. Then the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnaceflue pipe outlet 3 are connected to the flue pipe system of the furnace.More specifically, the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 is in fluidcommunication with a furnace outlet 4 of the flue pipe system, and thefurnace flue pipe outlet 3 is in fluid communication with a chimneyoutlet 5 of the flue pipe system as shown in FIG. 9. Due to theconfiguration and placement of the present invention, the dischargedflue gas first enters into the furnace outlet 4 and then travel throughthe furnace flue pipe inlet 2, the core assembly 1, and the furnace fluepipe outlet 3 of the present invention. As the discharged flue gastravels through the aforementioned path, the present invention extractsthe heat energy from the discharged flue gas while allowing theremaining bi-products of the discharged flue gas to emit through thechimney outlet 5.

In reference to FIG. 3-5, the core assembly 1 that absorbs the heatenergy from the discharged flue gas comprises a series of circulatingtube assemblies 11, a series of cooling fin assemblies 14, an inlethousing 15, and an outlet housing 16. The core assembly 1 is primarilymade of heat absorbing material so that the present invention is able toeffectively capture heat energy from the discharged flue gas. Morespecifically, each series of circulating tube assembly 11 and eachseries of cooling fin assembly 14 are staggerly arranged relative toeach other so that the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 are able toincrease the surface area for the series of circulating tube assemblies11 through the series of cooling fin assemblies 14. As a result, theseries of circulating tube assemblies 11 and the series of cooling finassemblies 14 increase the heat transfer rate from the discharged fluegas to return duct in which heats up the cool air within the return airduct.

The inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16 are oppositely positionedof each other along the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and theseries of circulating tube assemblies 11 in order to functions as asupporting structure. More specifically, the inlet housing 15 and theoutlet housing 16 are adjacently connected around the series of coolingfin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 tocomplete the general shape of the core assembly 1. In the preferredembodiment, the core assembly 1 is formed into a rectangular shape tobetter accommodate the standard shapes of the return air duct; however,the core assembly 1 can be formed into any other geometric shapes aslong as the core assembly 1 is able to match the internal shape of thereturn air duct.

In reference to FIG. 5, the inlet housing 15 and the outlet housing 16function as the intermediate components between the core assembly 1 andthe furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3. Theinlet housing 15 is perimetrically and outwardly offset from the seriesof cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series of circulating tubeassemblies 11 to structurally strengthen the series of cooling finassemblies 14 and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 from oneend while allowing the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 to traverse into theinlet housing 15 from the opposite end. As a result, the furnace fluepipe inlet 2 is in fluid communication with the series of circulatingtube assemblies 11 through the inlet housing 15 so that the dischargedflue gas can be released into the core assembly 1. Similar to the inlethousing 15, the outlet housing 16 is perimetrically and outwardly offsetfrom the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series ofcirculating tube assemblies 11. The outlet housing 16 structurallystrengthens the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 and the series ofcirculating tube assemblies 11 from one end while allowing the furnaceflue pipe outlet 3 to traverse into the outlet housing 16 from theopposite end. As a result, the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 is in fluidcommunication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 throughthe outlet housing 16 in order to release the discharged flue gas fromthe core assembly 1 to the furnace flue pipe outlet 3. The furnace fluepipe inlet 2 and the furnace flue pipe outlet 3 are preferably formedinto a circular shape so that the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 and thefurnace flue pipe outlet 3 are able to easily connect with the existingflue pipe systems.

In reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, theseries of circulating tube assemblies 11 comprises a first set ofcirculating tubes 12 and a second set of circulating tubes 13 as shownin FIG. 8. The first set of circulating tubes 12 and the second set ofcirculating tubes 13 are extended in between the inlet housing 15 andthe outlet housing 16. Additionally, the first set of circulating tubes12 is positioned offset from the second set of circulating tubes 13 inorder to maximize the exposed surface area for the cool air as theexposed surface area increases the heat transfer rate from the heatenergy to the cool air.

In reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the inlet housing 15 and the outlethousing 16 each comprises a first base surface 17, a second base surface18, and a lateral surface 19. More specifically, the first base surface17 of the inlet housing 15 is adjacently positioned with inlet openings21 of the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 and is in fluidcommunication with the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 throughthe inlet openings 21 as shown in FIG. 6. As a result, the inlet housing15 is able to be connected with the series of cooling fin assemblies 14and the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the first basesurface 17 of the inlet housing 15. The second base surface 18 of theinlet housing 15 is oppositely positioned of the first base surface 17of the inlet housing 15 along the lateral surface 19 of the inlethousing 15. In order to complete the configuration of the presentinvention, the second base surface 18 of the inlet housing 15 is influid communication with the furnace flue pipe inlet 2 as the furnaceflue pipe inlet 2 is positioned adjacent to the second base surface 18of the inlet housing 15. As a result, the furnace outlet 4 is able topump the discharged flue gas into the core assembly 1 from the furnace.In order to maximize the collection and distribution of the dischargedflue gas, the lateral surface 19 of the inlet housing 15 is tapered fromthe first base surface 17 of the inlet housing 15 to the second basesurface 18 of the inlet housing 15 as shown in FIG. 5.

In reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the first base surface 17 of the outlethousing 16 is adjacently positioned with outlet openings 22 of theseries of circulating tube assemblies 11 and is in fluid communicationwith the series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the outletopenings 22 as shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the outlet housing 16 isable to be connected with the series of cooling fin assemblies 14 andthe series of circulating tube assemblies 11 through the first basesurface 17 of the outlet housing 16. The second base surface 18 of theoutlet housing 16 is oppositely positioned of the first base surface 17of the outlet housing 16 along the lateral surface 19 of the outlethousing 16. In order to complete the configuration of the presentinvention, the second base surface 18 of the outlet housing 16 is influid communication with the furnace flue pipe as the furnace flue pipeoutlet 3 is positioned adjacent to the second base surface 18 of theoutlet housing 16. As a result, the chimney outlet 5 is able to releasethe discharged flue gas from the core assembly 1 to the atmosphere. Inorder to maximize the emission of the discharged flue gas, the lateralsurface 19 of the outlet housing 16 is positioned perpendicular to thefirst base surface 17 of the outlet housing 16 and the second basesurface 18 of the outlet housing 16 as shown in FIG. 5.

In reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the outlet housing 16 further comprises adrain hole 20. More specifically, the drain hole 20 is traversed throughthe lateral surface 19 of the outlet housing 16 so that a barb fittingcan be fitted into the drain hole 20. Since the removal of heat energyfrom the discharged flue gas generates condensation within the outlethousing 16, the barb fitting allows proper drainage for the generatedcondensation in which increases the reliability factor of the presentinvention.

The present invention may further comprise a control switch and a heatsensor. The control switch operates the run time of the furnace andfunctions as a secondary thermostat for the furnace. The heat sensor isintegrated onto the present invention and provides a series electricalconnection with a heat box sensor of the furnace and a carbon monoxidedetector as the carbon monoxide detector is inserted into the plenumspace and provides a series electrical connection with a furnace limitswitch. Even though the present invention is preferred to utilizedwithin residential furnace systems, the present invention can also beutilized within commercial and industrial furnaces systems.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat extractor to capture and recycle heatenergy within a furnace comprises: a core assembly; a furnace flue pipeinlet; a furnace flue pipe outlet; the core assembly comprises a seriesof circulating tube assemblies, a series of cooling fin assemblies, aninlet housing, and an outlet housing; each series of circulating tubeassembly and each series of cooling fin assembly being staggerlyarranged of each other; the inlet housing and the outlet housing beingoppositely positioned of each other along the series of cooling finassemblies and the series of circulating tube assemblies; the inlethousing and the outlet housing being adjacently connected around theseries of cooling fin assemblies and the series of circulating tubeassemblies; the furnace flue pipe inlet traversing into the inlethousing; the furnace flue pipe outlet traversing into the outlethousing; the furnace flue pipe inlet being in fluid communication withthe series of circulating tube assemblies through the inlet housing; andthe furnace flue pipe outlet being in fluid communication with theseries of circulating tube assemblies through the outlet housing.
 2. Theheat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnace asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the furnace flue pipe inlet is in fluidcommunication with a furnace outlet.
 3. The heat extractor to captureand recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe furnace flue pipe outlet is in fluid communication with a chimneyoutlet.
 4. The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy withina furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inlet housing isperimetrically and outwardly offset from the series of cooling finassemblies and the series of circulating tube assemblies.
 5. The heatextractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimedin claim 1 comprises: the inlet housing comprises a first base surface,a second base surface, and a lateral surface; the first base surfacebeing adjacently positioned with inlet openings of the series ofcirculating tube assemblies; the first base surface being in fluidcommunication with the series of circulating tube assemblies through theinlet openings; the second base surface being oppositely positioned ofthe first base surface along the lateral surface, adjacent to thefurnace flue pipe inlet; the second base surface being in fluidcommunication with the furnace flue pipe inlet; and the lateral surfacebeing tapered from the first base surface to the second base surface. 6.The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnaceas claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet housing is perimetrically andoutwardly offset from the series of cooling fin assemblies and theseries of circulating tube assemblies.
 7. The heat extractor to captureand recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimed in claim 1comprises: the outlet housing comprises a first base surface, a secondbase surface, and a lateral surface; the first base surface beingadjacently positioned with outlet openings of the series of circulatingtube assemblies; the first base surface being in fluid communicationwith the series of circulating tube assemblies through the outletopenings; the second base surface being oppositely positioned of thefirst base surface along the lateral surface, adjacent to the furnaceflue pipe outlet; the second base surface being in fluid communicationwith the furnace flue pipe outlet; and the lateral surface beingperpendicularly positioned between the first base surface and the secondbase surface.
 8. The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energywithin a furnace as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the outlet housingcomprises a drain hole and a lateral surface; and the drain holetraversing though the lateral surface.
 9. The heat extractor to captureand recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimed in claim 1comprises: the series of circulating tube assemblies comprises a firstset of circulating tubes and a second set of circulating tubes; thefirst set of circulating tubes and the second set of circulating tubesbeing extended in between the inlet housing and the outlet housing; andthe first set of circulating tubes being offset from the second set ofcirculating tubes.
 10. A heat extractor to capture and recycle heatenergy within a furnace comprises: a core assembly; a furnace flue pipeinlet; a furnace flue pipe outlet; the core assembly comprises a seriesof circulating tube assemblies, a series of cooling fin assemblies, aninlet housing, and an outlet housing; the outlet housing comprises adrain hole and a lateral surface; the drain hole traversing though thelateral surface of the outlet housing; each series of circulating tubeassembly and each series of cooling fin assembly being staggerlyarranged of each other; the inlet housing and the outlet housing beingoppositely positioned of each other along the series of cooling finassemblies and the series of circulating tube assemblies; the inlethousing and the outlet housing being adjacently connected around theseries of cooling fin assemblies and the series of circulating tubeassemblies; the furnace flue pipe inlet traversing into the inlethousing; the furnace flue pipe outlet traversing into the outlethousing; the furnace flue pipe inlet being in fluid communication withthe series of circulating tube assemblies through the inlet housing; andthe furnace flue pipe outlet being in fluid communication with theseries of circulating tube assemblies through the outlet housing. 11.The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnaceas claimed in claim 10, wherein the furnace flue pipe inlet is in fluidcommunication with a furnace outlet.
 12. The heat extractor to captureand recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimed in claim 10, whereinthe furnace flue pipe outlet is in fluid communication with a chimneyoutlet.
 13. The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy withina furnace as claimed in claim 10, wherein the inlet housing isperimetrically and outwardly offset from the series of cooling finassemblies and the series of circulating tube assemblies.
 14. The heatextractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimedin claim 10 comprises: the inlet housing comprises a first base surface,a second base surface, and a lateral surface; the first base surfacebeing adjacently positioned with inlet openings of the series ofcirculating tube assemblies; the first base surface being in fluidcommunication with the series of circulating tube assemblies through theinlet openings; the second base surface being oppositely positioned ofthe first base surface along the lateral surface, adjacent to thefurnace flue pipe inlet; the second base surface being in fluidcommunication with the furnace flue pipe inlet; and the lateral surfacebeing tapered from the first base surface to the second base surface.15. The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy within afurnace as claimed in claim 10, wherein the outlet housing isperimetrically and outwardly offset from the series of cooling finassemblies and the series of circulating tube assemblies.
 16. The heatextractor to capture and recycle heat energy within a furnace as claimedin claim 10 comprises: the outlet housing comprises a first base surfaceand a second base surface; the first base surface being adjacentlypositioned with outlet openings of the series of circulating tubeassemblies; the first base surface being in fluid communication with theseries of circulating tube assemblies through the outlet openings; thesecond base surface being oppositely positioned of the first basesurface along the lateral surface, adjacent to the furnace flue pipeoutlet; the second base surface being in fluid communication with thefurnace flue pipe outlet; and the lateral surface being perpendicularlypositioned between the first base surface and the second base surface.17. The heat extractor to capture and recycle heat energy within afurnace as claimed in claim 10 comprises: the series of circulating tubeassemblies comprises a first set of circulating tubes and a second setof circulating tubes; the first set of circulating tubes and the secondset of circulating tubes being extended in between the inlet housing andthe outlet housing; and the first set of circulating tubes being offsetfrom the second set of circulating tubes.